In the paint and lacquer industry, where viscous materials such as pigments, for instance, are worked in comparatively small amounts on so-called roller frames, these materials are taken from the roller frame and are fed to a conveying device, for example a press or a pump. This conveying device feeds these materials under pressure to the dosing cylinder of a dosing apparatus, the dosing piston of which is lifted under the pressure of the material until a predetermined charge of the dosing cylinder has been effected. Subsequently the valve associated with the dosing cylinder is closed and the material is fed under a suitable pressure from the piston cylinder drive via a pressure line to a dispensing valve, from which it is dispensed into a can or similar container. Dosing apparatus of this kind with an associated conveying device have shown good results in the field; however, they have the basic disadvantage that every roller frame requires its own conveying device and its own dosing apparatus. Dosing apparatus of this kind with an associated conveying device, consequently can only be employed in those instances where the same material, for instance the same paint, is produced over very long periods of time and in such amounts so as to make such a dosing apparatus sufficiently efficient. In firms where materials are often changed or a great number of small roller frames are employed, however, such devices cannot be employed at all or at least not efficiently.